PEMBROKE — Topsail defeats Elizabethtown for a 7-6 victory in the Dixie Youth Baseball Majors State Tournament on Sunday. Both teams were sitting in the elimination bracket after their games on Saturday and were put in a position of must-win to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Topsail held an early 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning before the Elizabethtown lineup came alive to rally back. Owen Hall slapped a single towards the outfield to bring home Greylon Robinson for Elizabethtown’s first run of the game in their half of the fifth inning. The next batter up was Lakota Schmale, who stood tall in the batter’s box to slap a double to bring Hall around to home plate.
Chandler Wall slapped a two-run RBI double to secure Elizabethtown’s first lead of the game at 6-4 and momentum seemed to be swinging in their favor but unfortunately, their opponents had different plans. Topsoil would respond at the top of the sixth inning with two runners on at the expense of a defensive error and a single before T. Graces crushed a triple to tie the game at 6-6. Graces would scamper to home plate a few moments later on the go-ahead run after a sacrifice fly to make the game 7-6.
Elizabethtown had one last chance to salvage the game in their half of the sixth inning and Robinson showed discipline at the plate to lead off with a walk. Hall would step up to the plate and deliver a single to place two runners on with two outs remaining in the inning. Both runners would advance bases on steals to get Elizabethtown in a favorable position.
Despite the pressure mounting on the Topsail defense and their opponents foaming at the mouth, they were able to put out the next two Elizabethtown batters to close out the game. Wall led the Elizabethtown lineup with a 3-for-3 performance, as he finished the day with two doubles and two RBIs. Stryker Pait and Hall both finished the day going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI a piece.
Elizabethtown right-hander Eli Woodell threw a complete game with two strikeouts and seven hits allowed in a full game of work. Topsail’s Aaron Logan led his team with a 2-for-2 performance inside of the batter’s box. F. Schoenwiesner also had an impressive day at the plate for Topsail with a 2-for-3 performance and he scored a couple of runs.